Homebound
by Youseino
Summary: Modern AU. Hiccup knew, he wanted- no, he needed, to return home a better man. Whether his city wanted him or not. Previously "Return Home."
1. Return

Snap.

The twigs cracked, and the trees rustled as a man in a black hood, armed with an archery bow, rushed towards the rainy and dark coast.

The man was ragged, torn, and broken. But he moved blindingly fast across the plant-life.

 _This is my chance._ He thought, as he quickly and effortlessly leaped onto a perched rock. _I can finally escape._

The island that served as this man's hell, his crucible, would be far behind him. He shut his eyes, and clenched his cheek.

He took a deep breath, as he spotted the Norwegian tugboat in the distance. He closed his eyes, pulled back on his sleek black bow, and let the arrow fly.

 _Like the Night Fury of legends._

The arrow cut through the air, like a knife with butter. The perfect arc was there, as the arrow struck a pile of twigs across the rocky shore.

 **BOOM**

The brunette bearded man stared at the flames, and leaped across the jagged and pointy rocks.

As he rushed to the rocky shore, burned and wet, because of previous confrontations, and the black ragged man stumbled to the people who had seen his signal.

Sweaty, tired, and gruesomely injured, this man fell to his knees. he took a moment to breathe, and to pull himself together. But he slowly began to lift his hood. His eyes, would be the first thing you noticed. Green, kind, soft, yet unforgiving, and merciless. The people of Berk wouldn't recognize this man.

But he was coming home.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The III was coming home.

 **Notes:**

 **This is just a little test, seeing if anyone wants to read this little story idea that spawned in my head as I binge-watched Arrow throughout summer. Any reviews and criticism would be appreciated.**

 **This is just a pilot**


	2. Homecoming

Everything was so unfamiliar.

Hiccup had been led into the Haddock mansion, and he looked around. It seemed strange. He felt his cleam shaven face, and ran a hand through his shaggy auburn hair. This was home, but it didn't feel like it.

"Son," Stephen, or Stoic, interrupted his thoughts. "I know everything has been tough on you, but I just want to let you know, I missed you." The large and beefy man smiled softly at his son. "I missed your birthday for the last 5 years." He said sadly. "But I'm sure you'll want to relax." He gestured for the young Haddock's bodyguards to lead him to his room, while Stoic ultimately left the residence.

In an instant, you'd see Hiccup was no longer the scrawny and skinny boy. He was muscular, yet lean. But you'd soon notice the scars littered on his body, the slashes and the way they haven't even properly healed yet. In his black painted room, he looked at the full body mirror in front of him. _I don't even recognize that man._ He thought to himself. But what was most prominent, was now the black snakelike dragon tattoo resting on his right breast. A symbol of the people he trained with, and who helped him become who he is now.

 **Aboard the Night Fury, 5 years ago.**

 _"Oh, uh hey Mom." Hiccup awkwardly greeted his mother aboard the stormy vessel. "Hiccup, are you feeling alright?" His kind hearted mother asked with concern, as they both sat down in a lounge. "J-Just a little seasick." He laughed nervously. In all honesty, Hiccup was afraid. The storm is getting a little tougher now, and the seas are getting restless. He heard thunder booming in the distance._

 _"Don't worry dear, everything will be fine, it always has been." She gave a warm motherly smile, and Hiccup knew she was right. "Thanks Mom, I just don't wanna be thrown overboard y'know?" He nervously chuckled. "I'll dive after you myself if that happened." She jested, sipping her coffee._

Astrid Hofferson just gave a sigh. It was, none the less, boring at the Berk Police Station. The station was busy, and bustling as ever. She eyed two delinquents who were pulled in for defacing public property with some kind of lightning lizard. "Young punks." She scoffed.

The blond police officer got up out of her desk, and went to pour herself some coffee in the morning. But it wasn't until then that she noticed something. "Hiccup Haddock, son of the mayor and CEO of Haddock Industries has returned from the dead." She stared at the television in shock, and awe. "He's, back?"

The last time she saw the Haddock boy, was 5 years ago. She was 21, he was 22. They were both friendly towards each other, due to their parents, but they were both slowly becoming friends, and she knew that a friendship was beginning to blossom. But then he left for a trip and never came back.

Astrid spent many of her nights thinking what might've been with him, if he never died. But it seems, he never did.

Berk has gone to shit.

That's the only words Hiccup could think of, as he revved through the streets on his sleek black sports bike. Poverty, and crime. They were everywhere. This isn't what his mother wanted. He grimaced at the memory. His mother. He parked his bike just outside of a seemingly normal alleyway. The people were bustling, up and about.. They walked through the streets and they were all busy with their own agendas. Hiccup noticed that about everyone. But he didn't notice the taser behind him, as the shock and electricity sped through his body, numbing him, as the world came to black.

 **Notes: It's kinda shitty right now, and i'm probably gonna come back and edit this, but the actual support i got on the pilot was mindblowing, even though i had only a couple. please, leave a review and any constructive criticism is welcome, because we all have to improve somehow.**

 **Edit: Instead of scrapping this story, I'm gonna make some edits to it.**

 **\- Transversive**


	3. Old Friends

When Hiccup awoke, the dimly lit room was filled with shadowy figures. "So you wanna tell me what's going on, or..?" He asked, deadpanning as the bag was lifted off his head. "Hiccup Haddock, your return was unwanted." One spoke up, their voice was heavily distorted, a black clothed figure wearing a strange carved wooden mask. To Hiccup, they almost resembled.. "Dragons. You guys are the Dragons." Hiccup realized. The Dragons were a secretive crime syndicate, operating within the shadows. It was only through the Berk police force's extensive and vigilant work were they forced to retreat underground.

Hiccup felt a drip of sweat down his forehead, realizing even he couldn't take out these people. "Your mother's death was, saddening, but it opened many opportunities." The figure who seemed to be their leader paced around the room. "But we had hoped two Haddocks would've died. Seems you're just as stubborn as your father." The Dragon leader put emphasis on the final word as he punched Hiccup's stomach, causing the auburn haired man to lurch forward in pain. "I'm afraid we can't kill you, you're a hot topic these days, Mr. Haddock." The shadowy figure leaned forward to meet Hiccup's face. Hiccup kept his stance, and was unflinching as the leader inched closer. "But know that we are watching you." And with that, a bag was placed over his head once again, and he became unconsicous.

He woke up in a cold sweat, shirtless, and he found himself in his... bed? He took deep breaths, and got up from his covers. "What the hell..?" He muttered to himself, the meeting of the shadowy organization shook him. But he knew that can't, and shouldn't, faze him in the slightest. He slipped on a black t-shirt, some jeans, and his black sneakers, and stepped outside his room. Noticing his father working in his office, he could just slip out of the house and he'd never notice. And so he did.

* * *

Astrid wasn't quite sure how to approach this. She stepped up to the Haddock Manor door and contemplated knocking. How was Hiccup? Would he even remember her? What happened to him?

She was determined to get some answers to her questions. Before she could even knock, the door came flying open and she stood there, face to face with Hiccup. Their eyes locked on each other, and after what feels like an enternity, she decided to speak up. "Hi, Hiccup." Her breath was taken away. This wasn't the scrawny boy she was getting to know and like. No, this was someone else entirely. "Astrid." He breathed. How did she get this beautiful? She wore a beige sweater, topped with a light blue overcoat. Her white scarf wrapped nicely around her neck, with a matching winter hat resting on her top, above her black jeans and worn sneakers. "I missed you, Hiccup." She told him, and it was the truth. Her friendship with him was something she cherished, and she could now have it back. "I missed you too." He smiled. She was all he had on his mind, as he overcame his crucible.

"So, uh," He scratched the back of his head, "you wanna come in?" She nodded, and he led her to the main living room, a lavish display of fineries. He sat down with her, on his leather couch. They sat in silence, both afraid to say anything. Until finally after a few moments, Astrid spoke up. "Hiccup, what happened to you?" She asked, turning her body to face him. "I was stranded on an island." He said darkly. "There were things on that island that left me broken, both physically and mentally." He stared down, his breath shaky, until he came back and directed his attention to her. "But what about you, did you finally become a police officer?" He asked. Astrid wanted to press on, ask him about his time on this island, but she decided against it, as he's been through a lot already.

And so, these two friends reconnected, Astrid told him about her college time, she told him about her position at the BCPD, and they both shared laughs about memories they both recalled. "How is everyone, anyways?" Hiccup asked. "You mean, the gang?" Astrid asked, but nevertheless, went on as Hiccup gave a nod. "Snot's been out of town for a while with his dad, cause he's trying to teach Snotty how to run a business, so y'know, business trip. The twins are at the station, they're under surveillence at the moment, and Fish is in the forensics department." Astrid told him. All of their parent's were upperclassmen, and they all got along mostly, but not as well as Hiccup and Astrid did. "You guys still hang out?" He asked. "We all get together as much as we can to go get dinner together, but we all have our own lives." She explained.

"I'm glad you guys didn't let my disappearance affect you." He smiled softly, leaning into the couch. "We all missed you Hiccup, it just didn't feel the same. And, I'm sorry about your mom." She said sadly. "Valka was a nice woman." She put her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you." He replied, looking at his feet. "It was really nice talking to you Hiccup, but I gotta go." She said, getting up off the couch. "I'll walk you out." Hiccup offered. Astrid accepted his kind gesture and followed him out.

They were at the door when Astrid turned to face Hiccup. "Can I have your phone?" She asked. "Uh, sure." Hiccup was unsure, but he trusted her, so he handed her his phone. Astrid typed something on it quickly, and handed it back. "What'd you do?" He asked, letting out a small chuckle. "I put my new phone number on it, of course." She replied, laughing. "So you can call me anytime." She made her way down the steps before turning back around. "It was really, really nice seeing you again Hiccup." She flashed a smile. "Likewise." She went back to her car, and Hiccup shut the door.

Now, he needed to get down to business.

 **Author's Note:  
** **I probably owe you guys an explanation.**

 **So I was feeling really unmotivated with this story, I didn't want to copy Arrow exactly, but I didn't want to make it some cliché crime thriller with the hero against a villain. I wasn't quite sure what to do, but now I do. I got this, random surge of inspiration, and please be patient with this story. I don't want this to be an Arrow story with HTTYD elements, but vice versa. I took a step back and I decided I wanted to redo things. I'm not gonna delete this story, but you'll see some edits from time to time on different chapters. Thank you to everyone who supports the story, and I wanna try to get the fourth chapter out by next week. Rate, leave a review, and tell me how you like this so far.**

 **Cheers,**

 **Transversive**


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